The Bet
by Muse-san
Summary: A scamper of feet across the tile floor, a slammed door, a confused cry of surprise from the shower. Ficlet.


**Hey, everyone! Consider this my official re-entry piece back into the world of fiction, which I abandoned so long ago…and with good reason. I realized my writing needed to mature. Don't get me wrong—I've always been a rather proficient writer, just not much in the creative genre. However, I again attempt to take a step back into the world of fanfiction with this piece. **

**This is not really even qualified to be called a one-shot…more like a long drabble—or a ficlet. Anyways, it's all in good humour. (Or at least I found the idea amusing, even if its portrayal is a bit less than stellar.) I didn't use names or necessarily explain the circumstances, but I think you can figure it out. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own two of the character and the ficlet. Sigh.**

A twist of the knob.

Hot water spraying down.

A laugh. A slender body shedding its towel and snaking behind the curtain.

"You coming?"

"Yeah, just a second."

From outside the bathroom, two eight year old children muffled their giggles with their hands, dancing violet eyes crinkled in the corners above rosy, apple cheeks. Slowly pushing on the nearly closed door, a chestnut haired girl licked her lips. Next to her, an identical male let a soft snort escape. Quickly abandoning her careful efforts with the door, she clapped a hand over the boy's mouth.

"_Shhh!_"

Standing motionless, the two waited for any indication that they had been heard. None came. The girl resumed her painstaking efforts, pushing on the door and praying that no squeaks alerted the inhabitants of the room to the presence of intruders. Inside, she heard cheerful humming.

"_I'm too sexy…hmm hmm hmm…for my…"_

"Are you coming or not?"

"Almost done, babe!"

'I got it!' the girl thought, winking excitedly at her two-minute successor, who grinned back. Shaking his bangs from his eyes, he moved forward, peeking with his twin sister into the bright room, decorated with daisy wallpaper, tiled floors, and rubber ducky soap dispensers. Standing in front of the mirror, a bare-chested man stood, clad loosely in a periwinkle blue towel slung low around his hips, with his long hair over his shoulders, nearly completely unbraided.

Deft hands finished the work with a swish, and the long hair flipped into place over a toned back. Looking into the mirror, he brought his arms up into a flex, inspecting his biceps. Grinning in satisfaction, he dropped his arms down and turned to the side. His eyes dropped to his abdomen, and the man wrinkled his handsome face in a look of slight disgust. Inhaling deeply, he drew the almost non-existent pooch of his abdomen in, poking his chest out.

"Honey, are you looking at yourself in the mirror again?" Hastily the man abandoned his efforts.

"Nah, babe. I just finished my hair. I'm coming." A predatory grin spread over his face. Outside the door, the two children were nearly shaking with anticipation.

'Come on, Mama. Come on, Daddy.'

For a second, the man disappeared from the children's line of vision, as he opted to enter from the back of the shower, which was still blocked by the door. They knew he was in when they heard light laughter drifting over the shower curtain.

"Good grief, _fina—_hey! Ack! No! Stop!"

Knowing they were safe from visual detection as long as the shower curtain stayed in place—and what could happen? Mama and Daddy were only bathing!—the underage delinquents pressed the door open with calculated precision until the opening was wide enough for them both to fit through, one at a time.

Stepping onto the cold tile, the boy started. The heated shower steam had caused the tiles to slick over, and his first foot slipped forward. In a second, his sister had grabbed his arm, stopping his descent in to a very uncomfortable split, freezing into stillness and forgetting to breathe. The giggles and breathless banter from the shower didn't pause. Glaring at her brother, the girl let him go once she confirmed he was stable and crept forward.

Arriving beside the shower, they let their matching violet gazes meet. With identical expressions of mischievous laughter, they each reached a small hand forward. Taking a deep breath, the boy whispered the command.

"One, two, three…"

Grinning widely, he spoke a bit louder, so that the showering couple could hear.

"Now!"

A scamper of feet across the tile floor, a slammed door, a confused cry of surprise from the shower.

"What the...? Why did they…?" A pause, and then a shriek. "Holy _crap_, turn off the water!"

"YOU LITTLE RUGRATS!"

Down the hall, the mirth of children abounded. Leaning over, heaving for breath and clutching their stomachs, the twins wiped at the tears that rolled down their cheeks. Finally, the boy stood up.

"You win. I'll pick up your toys."

"I told you that flushing the toilet makes shower water cold."

**Has anyone else ever heard this old wives' tale? Well, I'm not completely sure it is one—maybe it was true when bathroom technology wasn't quite as advanced as now. Anyways, I didn't use names because I felt like they didn't fit the piece. I had them in—even names for the twins—but I went back and took them out. And I know that I didn't immediately tell the reader that the toilet had been flushed, but I just felt like to do so would ruin the humour of the last line. Was I wrong?**

**Anyways, please…be so kind as to leave me a review, lest I must again leave the world of fanfiction. Smile**

**--Muse-san (note that this will probably not stay this name very long…)**


End file.
